My 2, now 3 yo, loves playing with beans. We have filled a tote (with lid) full of different kinds of beans and given him a couple of containers and spoons to play with. It is cheap and easy to clean up - just put the lid on and put away until asked for again. Lately, he's been bringing his little Pooh characters in to play in the beans and the other day we hid the snack in them for him to find and pass out to his siblings (like a treasure hunt). He asks daily to play in them !